Russian Tennis Player Daniil Medvedev Threatened Not To Be Allowed To Compete, As A Result Of His Country's Attack On Ukraine

Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev. (Photo: Antara/AFP/Pedro Pardo)

JAKARTA - Russia's Daniil Medvedev, a native of Moscow, reached the pinnacle of men's tennis when he officially became ATP world number one today, but what should have been a day of pride for the Russian sport was swallowed up by his own country's invasion of Ukraine.

Medvedev became the third Russian to top the table and the first player outside the "top four" Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray to occupy the top spot in 18 years.

But after the sporting world came together to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Medvedev's meteoric rise to the top came at a perhaps inopportune time.

Last Sunday the Ukrainian Tennis Federation asked the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to immediately expel Russia and Belarus from this organization and prohibit Russia from participating in both team and individual tennis tournaments.

In a letter seen by Reuters, the Ukrainian Tennis Federation described the actions of Russia and Belarus in Ukraine over the past four days as bloody.

"Civilians are dying, including women and children; civilian infrastructure is collapsing ... This is a full-scale war that will set our country back decades," the letter said, calling the Russian invasion's goal "annihilation."

"Russia and Belarus are not only entitled to hold international competitions on their territory, but are also prohibited from participating in all ITF team and individual tournaments abroad," the letter continued.

The ITF itself responded that the organization had taken "quick action" by canceling all tennis tournaments in Russia indefinitely and that no ITF tournaments would be held in Belarus during 2022.

Any restrictions on individual Russian players that, while seemingly impossible, will cast doubt on Medvedev's participation in the next Grand Slam, the French Open, in May.

Ahead of his coronation as world number one Medvedev took to Twitter to call for peace.

"Today I want to speak on behalf of every child in the world," he said.

"They all have dreams, their lives have just begun, so many exciting experiences are yet to come."

"That's why I call for peace in the world, for peace between nations. Children are born with inner trust in the world, they really believe in everything, in people, in love, safety, justice, their chance to live."

"Let's unite and show them it's true, because every child must never stop dreaming."

Last week, Daniil Medvedev's fellow Russian, Andry Rublev, who is also world number seven, scribbled the words "No War Please" over the lens of a TV camera on his way to winning the Dubai tournament.